field notes from east coast ghosts

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melancholy

stills from The Snowman

Should you be the kind of person who likes sad Christmas movies, or classic movies, or short films with an introduction by David Bowie, The Snowman is a worthwhile watch. It’s virtually silent; only Bowie (in the UK version of the intro) and Raymond Briggs (the American version) speak. The London Sinfonia soundtracks the 26-minute feature, but the scrimshaw-esque sketchiness of the illustrations do a fine job of carrying the plot; no dialogue is really needed. Luckily, as most of us lack VCRs nowadays, The Snowman is available on YouTube and streaming services the world ’round.